My name is Jeremy Raper (@mrrepar), and I am a Physics and Engineering teacher at Bob Jones High School (BJHS). BJHS is one of the largest public high schools in the state of Alabama with over 1,800 students 9th through 12th grades. We have many academies within the school, one of which is the Engineering For Tomorrow (E4T) Academy. In this academy, we train high school students in the ways of engineering to improve their opportunities for attending college and a future career. The engineering classes are project-based learning environments. This environment gives the students minimal lecture and maximal experience. Students work in groups to complete many projects that test their problem solving skills. In essence, it is learning by doing.

I received my BS in Physics from the University of Louisville in Louisville, Ky. in 1993. I went on to complete an MS in Physics (Astrophysics emphasis) from U of L in 1995. I came to Huntsville to work on my PhD in Physics (shifted to Optical Science Engineering). While here, I met and married my wife and began teaching at Bob Jones High School after receiving a Secondary Education Certificate. As a science teacher, I have taught Physical Science, Environmental Science, Physics, Honors Physics, AP Physics, and Robotics, and filled-in on occasion in the Math department. As a Career Tech teacher, I have taught Principles of Engineering, Advanced Engineering Design, and Engineering Internship.

I have been awarded the Golden Apple Teacher of the Year in 2000, a member of the Who's Who in Teachers, nominated as a Disney Teacher of the Year 2002, the Air Force Association State Teacher of the Year 2011, the Milken Family Foundation National Teacher of the Year 2011, and the Bob Jones and District Teacher of the Year 2013.

I worked for NASA before teaching as a computer programmer for the Cassini project in the greatest programming language of all time FORTRAN 77. Our group was responsible for the software program that ran the Cassini satellite. After getting married, I began working at BJHS in 1998 and did so until 2002. I left the classroom to return to NASA. I worked with NASAexplores and the NASA Educational Technology Services teams on various Web sites (including the then-new NASA portal). I wrote lesson plans, published material to the Web, coded HTML, presented at conferences, and helped redesign many features of the NASA Portal for kids, students, and educators. The best perk of the job was getting to meet astronauts. In 2005, the world of teaching was calling again, so I returned to BJHS to start the E4T Academy. I also work part-time at Mathnasium as a math instructor.

My wife and I have three daughters (with one dog and one turtle). My children attend Providence Classical School, where my wife teaches 3rd grade. We are members of Southside Baptist Church and also attend Summit Crossing Church. In my spare time, I enjoy playing video and board games, spending time with my family, maintaining a vegetable garden, and coaching/refereeing soccer (and on occasion basketball and volleyball).

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